New App Aims to Zap Texting and Driving

A mobile app in development intercepts incoming texts when a vehicle is traveling above three miles an hour without disturbing the driver, to minimize distracted driving.

The app then immediately sends an automated text response, noting that the person texted is presently driving and prompts the texter to call if there is an emergency. Once the driver has stopped the vehicle, the message is safely displayed ensuring that the driver ultimately receives the communication.

The S.A.L.T. (Save a Life Texting) app was developed to combat the ongoing problem of distracted driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving claimed nearly 3,500 lives in 2016 alone. Moreover, the National Safety Council estimates that distraction continues to be involved in approximately 8% of fatal crashes.

Presently, the inventor of the S.A.L.T. app, Ric Steel, is seeking to partner with insurance companies, major telecoms and software management teams to incorporate the app into all devices on all platforms worldwide.

Currently, the .apk files and all of the source code is finished and in testing. Once partnerships are secured, S.A.L.T. will be released on all android phones; phase two of the project will rollout S.A.L.T. on iOS devices. The basic app will be free to the public.

Steel is confident the S.A.L.T. app can save thousands of lives a year. He also believes its focus on safe driving may give users access to additional car insurance savings when allowing their insurance provider to monitor the app.

In-vehicle breathalyzers have halted alcohol-impaired drivers from starting their engines over 3 million times in the past 12 years, according to data collected from 11 ignition interlock manufacturers and evaluated by Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and New York are the recent recipients of grants from the Governors Highway Safety Association and the National Road Safety Foundation, Inc. to implement innovative drowsy driving prevention campaigns.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has recognized the 2019 Volkswagen GTI with its prestigious Top Safety Pick award when the car is equipped with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights.